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Bidding and Brexit – what you need to know

Posted: 18th July 2016

Since the important Brexit vote took place on Thursday 23rd June, there have been many questions raised regarding public sector procurement as we know it.

Bid Expert and AM Bid Services Managing Director, Andrew Morrison shares his observations in the following Q&A. This will help to address and provide some answers to key questions raised over Brexit from a bidder’s perspective.

These key questions include:

1. Is the OJEU process still applicable to UK public sector buyers and suppliers?

Answer: Yes, and it will likely remain so until the country exits from the European Union. Looking beyond that however, public sector procurement legislation is actually enshrined in primary UK legislation and would require an Act of Parliament to be repealed.

2.Will Brexit spell the end of public sector procurement as we know it?

Answer: Most unlikely. The public sector had procurement arrangements in place before the UK joined the EU. Procurement rules are likely to be a condition of any future free trade agreement with the EU. Even if that were not the case, and the UK was able to restrict their procurement to UK companies, the public sector will almost definitely still retain much of their current procurement arrangements. Can we realistically imagine that the public sector would be content to enter into contracts without a procurement process that allowed them to evaluate tenders on a price/quality basis? Procurement has a valuable role to play in determining the Most Economically Advantageous Tenders and in reducing the prospects of corruption in the award of contracts.

3. What effect may the Brexit vote have on how contractors handle their bidding requirements?

Answer: Recent years have seen an upsurge in the number of businesses outsourcing some or all of their bidding activities. The Brexit vote may well increase the instances of this as some companies look to reduce their numbers of permanent staff; or bid staff become a casualty of lower than expected sales volumes / opportunities coming to market. However, many businesses are experiencing the benefits of bringing in highly competent, widely experienced, external assistance which can help give them the edge on their competition.

New times bring new challenges, but also in some cases new answers and new approaches.

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.